After outright victories in 2014 and 2016, Zermatt once again delivered on guest satisfaction at an international level with this year's second place. Zermatt also leads the overall ranking for first-time visitors – a crucial marker, as first-time visitors tend to judge ski resorts more critically than returning guests. Zermatt achieved category wins with regard to safety on the slopes, ambience, comfort, exclusivity and authenticity.
Overall winner from South Tyrol
The winner of the international poll for "Best Ski Resort 2018" is the Kronplatz ski resort in South Tyrol. The Tyrol ski resort Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis came joint third with Val Gardena (Gröden) in South Tyrol. Other Swiss resorts followed in sixth (Grächen), seventh (Arosa-Lenzerheide), eighth (Aletsch Arena) and tenth place (Laax).
1.Kronplatz (8.54 points)
2.Zermatt (8.51 points)
3.Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis (8.40 points)
3.Val Gardena (8.40 points)
5.Alta Badia (8.38 points)
6.Grächen (8.36 points)
7.Arosa-Lenzerheide (8.33 points)
8.Aletsch Arena (8.32 points)
9.Livigno (8.26 points)
10.Laax (8.23 points)
10.Sölden (8.23 points)
A strong performance in the most important categories
Result of the biggest "on-mountain" poll in the Alps: the five most important criteria for choosing a ski resort are the size of the ski area, snow safety, quality of the pistes, accommodation/hotels and transport standards. Zermatt was placed in the top five in four of these categories.
Biggest customer satisfaction poll in the Alps
A total of 45,847 skiers and snowboarders in 55 ski resorts in Italy, Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland were surveyed during the 2017/18 winter season. In all, 13,807 people in ski resorts in Switzerland directly expressed their opinions on "relevance" and "satisfaction" in more than 20 categories. Overall, the "Best Ski Resort Report" is the industry's most comprehensive, regular customer satisfaction survey in the Alps, providing holidaymakers and decision-makers in the regions with interesting insights into the quality of ski resorts, guest satisfaction and the most important criteria for choosing a winter sports resort.
High quality of the study
According to Prof. Dr. Kurt Matzler from the University of Innsbruck/Bolzano, the study, which has been carried out every two years since 2010, is now also impacting upon research in the field. The elaborate study design, large samples and proven evaluation and presentation methods guarantee high data quality and study results.